Honda CB900 Hornet | .au

Review your last buy on ProductReview.com.auHonda CB900 Hornet has been discontinued. See the Best Naked Bikes. Honda CB900 Hornet4.5

19 reviews

Positive vs Negative95%5%Read moreCompareWrite a review Mileage ?10,000 kmBuild Quality4.7Value for Money5.0Cleaning & Maintenance ?4.3Noise Level4.0Braking4.3Acceleration / Power4.3Gear Shifting4.7Suspension3.7Fuel Efficiency4.0Comfort4.3Handling4.0

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Honda CB125E 4.3Yamaha MT-07 4.7Triumph Bonneville T100 4.4Kawasaki Ninja 650 4.6CFMOTO 650NK 3.7See moreBrand Manager for Honda Motorcycles? Claim your listing. 19 reviewsAll filtersNewestAll filtersSearchNewest Ole Mate VIC 3 posts 4yVoteMore

One of the BEST – Purchased this Bike a Few months ago was looking for a comfortable up right seating position with a little Punch on Tap, Well this ticked all the boxes as mentioned above, Extremely Comfortable to Ride , heaps of grunt an cruises effortlessly up the FreeWay, Ive Only added a Deflector Screen and Cruise Control Im just a tad off 60 years young, and… Read more

ive had over 54 motor cycles in my time, looks like this is the last horse for me, Buy one ladies and gents highly recommended

Bertsta WA 11 posts 5yVoteMoreValue for MoneyNoise LevelPerformance

Under Rated Weapon – Looks fairly boring and it could be "just another Honda" especially in some of the uninspiring colour schemes. However that motor makes the machine. The 919cc four is from a previous generation Fireblade but is retuned for more mid-range. It has plenty of grunt and for a naked bike, more than enough power. The motor is smooth and easy to use,… Read more

with a silky mid-range and instant pull whatever gear you happen to be in. Reliability is a given and like most Hondas, the Hornet simply delivers without fuss..

Dom J NSW 4 posts 6yVoteMoreCleaning & MaintenancePerformance

Just have to agree – I've read all the reviews for the Hornet 900 and have to agree with the formed consensus that it is excellent value for money, extremely reliable and can do everything pretty well - whether that be touring, riding fast, cruising round town, or speeding away when then lights change. Tank range is okay, I normally ride hard and get about 250 km… Read more

before light comes on. Nothing has gone wrong at all, I got the bike at 30,000 kms and have added another 20,000 having only replaced consumables. It has Yoshi pipes which sound pretty good, oggies but that is about it. I added a trickle feed and a crappy screen. If you want a cheap bike that will just go and go without lots of servicing, with the bonus of easy to source parts, then consider a hornet. My mates on their Ducati's and Triumph's give my some stick, but since I can keep up with them and then leave them behind when they have their inevitable break down, I can handle it...

hondaxl QLD 4 posts 11yVote (3)More

An Underated bike – I bought mine, 2006 model, with 39000k's and now have 56000k's on it. The previous owner had put a full yoshimura system and an Ohlin's shock on it , plus he had replaced a lot of the components with carbon fibre. I added a PC3, mapped it and set up the front suspension and now have a bike that up to 100mph is as fast as and handles as well as… Read more

most bikes on the market all for $4500. It has a remarkable mid range and just enough top end to be fun, Honda reliability and steering better than my tuono Aprilia under 100 mph.

Positives: - That motor, grunt city. light (under 200kg wet), always leaves a smile when I ride it.

Negatives: - brakes are not bad but are not late model powerful.

deus_zeus NSW 18 posts 11yVoteMore

Great all rounder, with plenty of go – Now that I've owned the bike a while I understand what people say about the rear suspension. It's not bad, but it's a bit, I don't know, crashy...? Is that even an apt way to describe suspension? Anyway, it's not a major bug bear, but if you're really into your bikes it might be something you'd change right away. In my case, bog-stock, except for… Read more

a really ugly (but cheap) windscreen, and oggy knobs (Honda original, came with the bike).

Power is great, and super lazy - it doesn't rev sky high but it has torque ever where - I've forgotten to change gears before and taken off in 3rd gear.

More importantly for me, it's nice and upright as I use it for commuting daily, in heavy traffic - people don't like the slightly narrow handlebars, I need them to filter past cars.

All in all, a great bike which I'm super happy with and will be keeping for years to come.

I would like some after-market cans so people can actually hear me, but this is certainly not a priority.

Oh, if you find one with the optional centre stand, get it! I didn't realize how handy centre stands were until I got a bike that didn't have one.

Fred 16 posts 11yVote (1)More

Perfect Allrounder – I've owned many bikes, but tend to find Honda to be the best built and most reliable. I purchased a 2007 Hornet with 10,000km last year and I am still very satisfied with the bike. It does everything I want it to do, has plenty of power, great fuel consumtion and the bike is a keeper. The Hornet is not the most exciting motorcycle, but you won't find many that are better allrounders.

Kli Ve NSW 2 posts 11yVote (1)More

The best thing I have ever ridden. Period – Power: More than enough to make you grin every time. Comfort: Ridiculously comfy Sound: Any set of after-markets will make this sound amazing! Reliability: Goes without saying. Looks: Personally I think it is stunning Ability: Can tour very well, can be ridden how ever you want it really. Load capacity: Manual says 180kilos max load... I… Read more

guess you can upgrade the suspension.

Position: A little too upright, but you can change to low bars (Renthal)

Economy: Haven't seen that fuel light come on ever, just fill it up before you get home.

Servicing: Apart from that 3rd spark (which will take 40mins) everything else is easy as eating melted icecream.

Tyres: Pirelli Angel Gts are the best ;)

LOOOOOOVE this bike.

sprocket 9 posts 12yVoteMore

suspension fix and other worth while mods – love the hornet but hate the suspension? ive done this and the difference is amazing. forks: cbr600f4i. perfect fit. use hornet brakes n axel. cbr600 f4i mudguard. cost about $250 delivered from u.s. rear shock: cbr600 f3 exact fit. small cut in resovior holder. lifts rear about 30mm. it needs it. get this cbr suspension checked n fitted by… Read more

suspension guru. that z1000 wont know what passed him. fully adjustable suspension is the way to go. bike will also brake mutch better. also renthal ultra low bars. bar end mirrors n flapper valve mod. now you've git a bike u wont wanna get rid of.

have this bike now for 10yrs 78 000km. all mods holding up well.

consumables :

3 front tyres. 4 rear tyres (pirelli angel gt)

2nd set of front brake discs

3rd rear brake disc

2 sets front brake pads 3 for the rear

oil change every 3000km filter every 6000

still using k+n air filter.

2 coolant flushes

brake fluid changed every 15 000km

valve clearances checked twice (barely changed)

rear wheel bearing left side and cush drive bearing worn n replaced

thats about it.

id call that low maintance n reasonable running costs. no noise or rattle from engine. still goin strong.

use bike everyday. even in winter. commuting and touring. have done about 1000km total in gravel roads farm roads. short wheel base makes it twitchy. its do-able but u have to relax committ n be confident.

paint is still good no discolouring. no rust. never leaked doesnt use oil.

twin delkevic exhaust sounds great. 10yrs old still look n sound new.

CAUTION dont muck around too much with wiring in headlight shell. i did. results...intermittent loss of power to dash. speedo tacho coolant temp etc. my fault. annoying.

several mc mechanics assure me that given my bikes service n maintance history it will go to 200 000km or more before i gotta open up engine for rebuild. that means its a keeper. low stressed good performing mile munching engine. these bikes are a bargain at todays prices n a 2nd hand 2006-2007 model with

40 000km is nothing. ( if the owner is fanatic all the better).

bikes of this genre just keep on going. no fancy electrics or gizmos or servos. just simple proven tough bikes worth 10 times the some of their parts.

overall a basic solid well built reliable trustworthy strong bike. excellent buy. reliable. excellent canvas for mech minded owners. easy to turn from mild to wild poor suspension. bars too high and narrow.

Kunho5 12yVote (5)More

Honda Hornet 900 Owners Review – Small frame and neutral predictable handling. She will never step out the back wheel and the front end is excellent and trustworthy. I have Pirrlelli Rosso 2 on mine and the handling is in the sport bike range. I found these tyre to be excellent. A good rider on a hornet that is set up well can keep up with sports bikes on the tight and twisties… Read more

because they cant use their full power anyway. The downside to handling is the weight, she is a bit on the heavy side and the lighter Triumph Speed Triples etc will challenge you. The suspension needs to be squeezed right down on the front forks making the preload and dampening settings almost as hard as they can get to make the front end more precise. Stock set up is useless. The back end was vague and mushy till I put an adjustable rear shock and raised it up it making it very stiff. with firm preload and rebound It handles much better.

The stock brakes are ok but cintered pads will imporve things quite a bit.

Relpace the rubbish mirrors and handlegrips and levers immediately.

The engine is strong and reliable, but really is down a little on power even compared to a GSXR750 which is a small motor by 170 cc. I have carbon slip ons and people say it sounds nice, like a big four into one. She will lift the front if you clutch it and sometimes power wheelies in first up hills. I have kept up with many people on expensive motorcycles on mountain rides only to have them scratch their heads at the cafes afterward. Still a good rider on the likes of a Daytona 675 or GSXR 750 will hand you your butt.

The gearbox is scratchy and especially between 5 anf 6 when you are really reving it, can be a struggle. Keeping the oil newish will imporve gear changes. I rotated the gear lever down one notch and this helped a little, but its not one of Honda's best efforts. It could just be my bike, though, having said that. Still for a bike that is cheap it does ok.

Headlamp is excellent. It is excellent in traffic, good ecceleration and filters great with good visibility.

The seat is the worst part about the Hornet, It is comfortable enough and firm for sport riding but the storage is rubbish. I had more room in some sports bikes under the seat than this naked has. Not good, and the fit is not good at all. Really shows its budget credentials in this area. Side covers are rubbish also.

In summary its cheap, has a 900 motor in a 600 frame so if your small thats a good thing. It will tour, commute, and carve on weekends. It has good mid range power which is very usable in the real world. You can mercilessly ring its neck five days a week and it wont miss a beat. True honda. You can park it and they will steal the R1 next to you. You won't break the fairing cause there isn't one. The police will book your mates instead of you because if you take the stickers off everyone will think it's a 400. If you know how to ride you can surpirse a lot of people who mortgaged their house to buy expensive bikes, but a good rider on a modern 600 will own you.

Value for money, reliablity,and versatility. Jack of all trades masrter of none. Engine, cheap, reliable,versatile, cpmfortable, neutral handling, can be imporved dramatically and cheaply. Good fuel economy. The seat is rubbish, the gearbox could be better, the suspension is budget, mirrors are rubbish,

PreviousHonda CB125E4.3 Yamaha MT-074.7 Triumph Bonneville T1004.4 Kawasaki Ninja 6504.6 CFMOTO 650NK3.7 NextCompare best Naked Bikes blade56 13yVote (2)More

blade 56 – Great allrounder does everything with eas riding to work , touring it's just a pleasure to ride not to mention the cost of running the beast fuelcosumption , services and it's not to complicated to do a lot of work - maintenance yourself , so if you are looking for an allrounder that one bike you should not overlook

miros 11 posts 14yVote (4)More

The Best All Rounder Available – When I got my 2007 900 Hornet it already came with a centre stand and hard luggage, so it saved me a bit of money getting them added. And since buying it I've put over 10,000km on it, purely weekend riding. Which includes some highspirited twisty riding, some pace riding and also taking it easy cruising around type riding. And what I've found is,… Read more

the bike excels well in all the riding I do. It's not fantastic at any one thing, but pretty darn good at everything.

The handling it spot on. Maybe not as sharp and nippy as say a GS500, but close to it. I can sit in the saddle for two hours at a time without feeling like I need to move around constantly to get comfy - though usually do 60-to-90 minute stints. Gear changes are smooth as silk with the Motul 300v oil I use, throttle has no deadspots so power is instantly there. Even in 6th gear a twist of the throttle will surge you ahead and overtaking is a breeze. And if you're too high a gear for a slow corner, the engine has plenty enough torque to pull you through without lugging.

Fuel ecomomy I am getting to around 260km before the fuel light comes on. The tank is supposed to be 19 litres but when I fill up after the light comes on it only takes 14 litres before it is full again. So I am getting close to 20km a litre - depending on how agressive I ride - but nothing below 18km a litre. And the economy doesn't seem to change when I add my top box and panniers either. The bike doesn't even notice them.

One thing to watch for is the 3rd spark plug. It's not a simple task to get at in a service, so often mechanics will change the other three but leave the third one. So you could have a dead spark plug or one not firing well and all gunked up, but it won't be changed and so unburned fuel will exit the exhaust. Also, the cam tensioner needs checking EVERY service. So if you are a DIY, keep this in mind.

My bike came with a small screen on it. This forced the wind higher than my chest and all onto the helmet, creating a lot of wind noise on the helmet. I've since removed the screen and prefer it this way. I ride a naked bike to feel that I am riding, and thoroughly enjoy the CB900 for this reason.

The twin front disc breaks pull up the bike in a jiffy. The headlight illuminates the road well at night and so far this bike has not missed a beat. I've got Pilot Road II tires on front and rear and the bike rides very well. Sure, those tyres are not the lastest stickiest high performance things, but for riding on the road instead of the track, they do the job Very well.

This is one of those bikes that saw its demise due to the European Emissions Standards. That is, it could not meet the level three standards, so it was withdrawn from sale as a New bike. Ridiculous when you think a car can get 10km a litre and meet the standards while a bike with almost twice that economy has to be withdrawn. C'est la vie.

In summary, I'd say this is the best all rounder street bike you can find. Commuting, weekend riding, even touring, this bike takes it all in its stride with the power, comfort and handling to match. This bike is a keeper! Power on tap, comfort, fuel tank size and riding range, handling, riding position I'm sitting here trying to think of something *I* think of as being a negative and I cannot. Nope, nothing I don't like.

Razor79 14yVote (2)More

Best Bang for your Buck – Low to mid range tuned Fireblade engine in a upright naked touring position tameable beast. For those who understand how to ride a bike of this calibre, know that it won't pull out of corners as hard as your super sport litre bikes, but you don't need to, to the get speed to keep up with the bigs boys. Keep it smooth, trust the front end and… Read more

you'll be amazed with this bikes useable 100bhp. Wide range of upgradeable parts for cheap wil have you tinkering to create your own custom Hornet. As said in other reviews, doesn't do anything better than other bikes, but it can do everything really well, best allrounder out there. Love this bike... Reliable, quick off the line, fuel economy, lots of FUN, nimble handling, fricken wheelie machine :) Stock suspension less than desireable, buzzy vibrations through bars.

wichert 2 posts 14yVote (2)More

Excellent – This is a fantastic all rounder bike, bike parts are cheap to replace when minor accidents occur due to the old school desighn cheap cheap cheap, de tuned just enough to make it livable on short runs. to much to pay for centre stand.

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Compare all markha 14yVote (2)More

Excellent – The bike is great, I have done around 30k mainly commuting with weekend rides as well. The bike is showing no signs of ageing due to the high standard of finish. The bike is very hard to fault, unless pushed well beyond legal limits, were the suspension lets things get a little wobbly in bumpy corners. The bike is far more "capable" than most… Read more

of the riders that will ever ride it.

If you ride sedately the bike is happy to comply and is easy to control (great for keeping control in the wet), perfect for around town. If you hit the open road and dial up the power the bike transforms with sports bike performance, but with more comfort. It's a Honda press the starter and it starts first time every time. The ride position is nice and upright not hard on the wrists and great for seeing over the traffic. Good accomodation for "2 up" riding and plenty of power not to notice the "extra" on the back. Very good cornering ability, and good fun to ride. Needs good tyres to make it stick to the road the originals were not up to the job. Needs center stand for ease of chain maintenance.

mick5468beck 14yVote (2)More

Excellent – this bike is great it tours very well and when the twisties come it just eates them up keeping with most of the boys on the R1 and only a minute or so behind the guys that scrape the knee over a twenty minute run, Best bike i have owned,,, cost power delivery for the beginner vibration

HornetBite 14yVote (2)More

Excellent – If you don't ride naked you're hiding something! I'm 6'2" and most any bike gives me grief with knees and leg length but the upright position on the Hornet reduces this significantly! I've ridden Gixxer's, R1's, CBR's and whilst they're fun, they're really for short 'sprints'. I can ride this for an 8 hour day with confort yet still easily… Read more

keep up with those "super sports" bikes on the road, and it cost me half as much!

Go on... get naked! Inexpensive to buy (compared to full faired 'sports bikes')

Great torque and decent power (Mine dyno'd just shy of 100HP at the rear wheel stock standard)

Stock pipes that DONT make your bike sound like a sewing machine - fantastic twisting the wrist from 3k thru to 5k RPM

More upright riding position gives the back a break! A small lowside can mean tank and possible frame damage - buy soem Oggy's or other brand frame sliders.

Perhaps a little too twitchy when backing off the throttle but I've read of mods your dealer can make to reduce the effect of engine braking.

aussieconvict 2 posts 14yVote (1)More

Excellent – Let's be honest, it's not a Ducati, Triumph or Harley, but then again it's about 1/3rd of the price. What you get is a bullet-proof 919cc naked everyday bike. The engine is a cut down fireblade, which means it won't be the fastest off the lights but it will keep pulling all the way through every gear. I've had it on the track and it kept up with… Read more

all the sportsbikes no probs. The flexibility to ride like a weekend rider or tourer, but twist the wrist and power is ready - show me any other bike that will deliver this for the price! I can't recommend it highly enough for anyone wanting a bike that can do a bit of everything. Price, endless power, seating position, fuel economy, and bullet-proof engine. Nothing at all !!!

Pascal_Morin 2 posts 14yVoteMore

Love it, but cant breathe!!!!! – I love the honda hornet cb900, it does everything it should and is a beautiful bike to look at. HOWEVER, i find it very hard to breathe whenever i come to a stop. Because the 2 exhaust pipes sit up so high under the back seat, so when you stop the fumes waft right up to your face and its horrendous!! Im soo upset about this that im almost at… Read more ·  2

the point of reselling it and i only just bought it a few months ago! :-(

Ive never had this problem in the past with all 3 of my previous bikes, but then again ive never had a double exhaust that high up before.

Is this a common problem or a flaw with the hornet 900?

One possibility, is that when i bought it second hand the previous owner installed a fender eliminator kit.Could this have something to do with it?

Or perhaps there is a leak in the exhaust pipe?I just had a full service and all seemed fine!

WHY does it stink soo bad!!!???AAARGH!

Id recommend the hornet 600 over a 900 because at least it has a low exhaust and only on one side. "reliable, powerful, attractive, inexpensive, energy efficient" Can smell the fumes from the 2 exhaust pipes whenever coming to a stop!!!

alrivera 14yVoteMore

Terrible – Purchased 2008 and I regret it. Worst bike I've ever own. I have 1700 miles on and thinking about set a torch to it. Will never buy another Honda bike or car and you should do likewise. Avoid this bike at all cost. Other reviewers praise it but I think they're on the take. Seating Position Fuel economy, seat sucks, vibration on handlebar and pegs is wiched. Sidestand is useless.

MoreAndrew Ford 13y  

It's pretty fuel efficient for a 919cc engine. The vibrations are there but heavier bar ends can… Read more

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